The invention relates to an apparatus for deep-frying food, comprising:
a pan for containing a frying medium which is liquid in use,
a cover, the cover, when placed on the pan, and the pan together defining an inner space,
a window of a transparent material, which takes up at least a portion of a cover and which extends at least partially in a sloping or vertical manner, and
a vapor discharge channel communicating with said inner space and extending from an upper portion of said inner space.
Such an apparatus is known from German patent application no. 31 03 450. The transparent material of the window of said apparatus also forms a holder for retaining a filter element in position in a space which has been left open in the cover for that purpose. One drawback of said apparatus is the fact that the window is so small that it does not provide a good view of the food that is being deep-fried. One problem in particular is the fact that a person looking through the window obstructs the incident light in the direction of view, as a consequence of which the food being viewed is not sufficiently illuminated to be able to judge whether it is done yet.
International patent application WO 94/23626 discloses a deep-frying apparatus including a vapor discharge channel which extends upwards through the cover from the inner space and then downwards to a cooling surface of a cooling element, on which the vapor being released during the deep-frying process can be caused to precipitate. Said apparatus does not include a window that makes it possible to inspect the food being deep-fried without having to open the cover, however.
An object of the invention is to make it easier to view food that is present in the pan. According to a first aspect of the invention, this object is accomplished by providing a simple solution which makes it possible to use a large window for inspecting food without opening the cover while preventing water that condenses on the transparent material in the window from finding its way into the frying medium. Water dropping into hot frying fat or the like causes hot frying medium to splash high. Especially in the open position of the cover, this involves a risk of the user being injured.
According to the present invention, the above solution is realized by means of an apparatus which is characterized by
a cooling surface for cooling vapors, which cooling surface communicates with said inner space via at least a portion of said vapor discharge channel,
a storage reservoir for storing condensate that has precipitated on the cooling surface, into which storage reservoir the vapor discharge channel opens, and
a collecting gutter for collecting condensate that has precipitated on the window, which collecting gutter extends along a bottom end of the window and is provided with a drain, via which drain the collecting gutter communicates with the vapor discharge channel for draining condensate to the vapor discharge channel.
With deep-frying apparatuses according to the invention, the water that condenses on the transparent material in the sloping or vertical window runs down over said material and is caught in the collecting gutter. From the collecting gutter, the water is discharged to the vapor discharge channel, via which the water reaches the storage reservoir for water that has condensed on a special cooling surface. The vapor discharge channel thus functions not only as a means for discharging vapor, but also as a discharge channel for water that has condensed on the transparent material.
According to another aspect of the invention, this objective is accomplished by providing a solution which signals that food is being deep-fried in the pan. This solution is realized by providing an apparatus as claimed in claim 10. This solution is based on the insight that water being released from the food in the form of hot vapor during deep-frying activity will heat the vapor discharge channel. Detection of said heating makes it possible to signal whether food is being deep-fried without having to look into the pan.
Especially advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.